Posted
by
timothy
on Monday April 20, 2009 @07:52AM
from the everybody's-doing-it dept.

murthydn writes "According to a Times of India article, 'India on Monday successfully launched its first all-weather spy satellite that will help security agencies keep a watch on the movements on the borders. The satellite has all-weather capability to take images of the Earth and would also be beneficial in mapping and managing natural disasters, such as floods and landslides, besides amplifying defence surveillance capabilities of the nation. It would also help keep track of ships at sea that could pose a threat.'"

"Though the satellite has a global coverage we will use it only for our use," ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair told reporters at a post-launch press conference.

Yeah... just like RICO was only used against gangsters, the PATRIOT act only against terrorists, and asset forfeiture only against drug lords. And red light cameras and automatic speed traps are for safety, not revenue generation. Sure.

Not that there's any reason that they couldn't or shouldn't use their new satellite to look at other nations, it's just annoying when officials say something like that that they know (or should know) will be false.

Actually, shielding spacecrafts from the effects of space weather is a real problem! Aah, nothing like the sound of onboard electronics getting fried with a ton of high-speed protons from a coronal mass ejection:-)

With the implication being that the operations of certain other spy satellites are subject to present weather conditions in space. And I supposed since this is an all-weather spy satellite, they've solved the problem of getting hit by space rocks.

So now, when Pakistan gets upset with India, they'll shoot down the satellite, which will mark the first space war.. Which will mark the way for N.K shooting down a US satellite, and we'll be in the wild wild west!!!

Extremely doubtful that the pakis could kill a sat at this point. Not impossible, but it's a non-trivial task. Also, the rest of the developed world would take a gigantic shit on them, because it would clutter up orbit even worse.

Judging from the complete lack of hysteria in the US about Pakistan's nukes, I'd say that the nukes are already under the US's control or they have veto power over deployment. Besides, Pakistan would risk being wiped out by any retaliatory attack should they attack anyone first. And they would likely lose any remaining sympathy the international community for their problems. That would be bad news for Pakistan, Taliban and their cronies.

Actually, unlike every other nuclear power Pakistan's nukes are under the control of the general who runs the area that they're located in. I guess the original justification was that if the government were beheaded by a surprise attack the military could still retaliate, but it makes for an exceedingly scary environment.

A couple of years ago a meteor blew up over the eastern Mediterrainean Sea, with a Hiroshima-size blast. Had it arrived a couple of hour later Earth would have rotated that much further a

Not sure how the term is received in the USA but over here in the UK calling somebody from Pakistan a "paki" is like calling somebody with African-American heritage a "nigger". Most people consider it outdated and downright offensive, most folk with Pakistani origins who live in the UK associate it with small minded neo-nazis shouting at them, parading through the streets and telling them to "go home" and worse.

For your information... Not sure how the the term is received in the USA. But if you ever came on holiday to the UK you'd be better not to use the term unless you wanted to get into fights quite regularly.

Don't worry, I have little to no intention of coming to the UK. I was pre-coffee, which is no excuse for being a subconscious racist or whatever I am, but I'm not making one. Where I come from, I grew up referring to a crappy knife as a "paki dagger" and thinking nothing of it, which I guess is typical. Either way, I think nothing of mocking Americans, and I am one; neither does the rest of the world, for that matter. I'm Mexican, Norwegian, German, English, Polish, and French that I know of; based on my fa

After finding out how most of the world talks about Americans, I stopped giving one tenth of one shit about how I referred to anyone else. If they're offended they should refer to Mencken; I'm not prejudiced, I dislike everyone equally. I think the difference between the USA and any other nation is largely one of starting position on the board of Civilization.

I hope that this gets modded funny. However sadly I think it is informative. After all they responded to India saying it would increase border defences after the Mumbai attack by saying it would reduce efforts in the War against terror.

That is quite some way of putting things! In all fairness you have to realize that India and Pakistan have a serious trust problem with each other. Even though India would claim that the increased border defense (read more military near India-Pakistan border) is only for defense, in case of a future tense situation it would put Pakistan under immense pressure to mobilize its forces quite suddenly. The only rational move for them, therefore, is to move forces to the border already. And that implies weakening the force available at the Pakistan-Afganistan border and thus "reducing their efforts" in the war against terror.

Now you can all wish that we lived in a perfect world where such a reasoning in not needed, but unfortunately the reality of India-Pakistan relations is ugly and one of deep mistrust for each other. And in such a situation what you wrote in your post is a natural way to react for the parties.

PS: I am Indian and believe that Pakistan has a fucked up priorities with regards to India and its vision for its own future, but there is no need to put a shade of propaganda to everything.

I am Pakistani, and I agree that we have major problems and our priorities are quite messed up.

Unfortunately, along with all these problems, there is a lot of propaganda going on domestically and internationally. This masks the real problems to the extent, that most people spend hours debating upon inconsequential issues.

Either its propaganda or people are so deluded about the rest of the world, that they can't tell black from white.

It's very tricky for the international community to even know how to help Pakistan right now. They don't have control of the North/Northwestern part of their country. They don't have leaders with any sort of vision (or even just wisdom/sense). And they are (quite justifiably) suspicious of the West and unlikely to accept help/suggestions.

I really hope they find some way to pull out of their current situation. And if/when they do, I hope they are able to establish a good civilian government able to

Keep in mind that even though India is launching satellites, it does not mean that the country is somehow rich. It just means that the government is controlled by hungry/greedy companies that want profits and are able to buy the politicians into spending money on such things, while largely ignoring even the most basics of the people. Many people are dirt poor, live in horrible conditions, and malnutrition is everywhere. But, as long as the ultra rich get richer, and the politicians run the India, it will

yes, you are right, I totally agree with you. In fact, the world's largest democratic country don't need any aid from any country.
We will be more happy if UK and it allies stop aiding countries supporting terrorism: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7486948.stm [bbc.co.uk]

The satellite has all-weather capability to take images of the Earth and would also be beneficial in mapping and managing natural disasters, such as floods and landslides, besides amplifying defence surveillance capabilities of the nation. It would also help keep track of ships at sea that could pose a threat.

Can't read TFA, since our work has it blocked for some bizarre reason (some seemingly arbitrary things are blocked), but the summary was a little amusing to me. They list off all these various ways th

Being an Indian, I can tell you that there is no need for an all weather satellite. Terrorists enter in broad daylight and in really good weather conditions sunglight and all and attack Indian cities. Spending this money on Border Security Force is a much better alternative.

With a strength of about 57 battalions, or 78,000 men, it is one of the world's largest border patrol forces.

BSF [wikipedia.org]
India already has very good border security force with lots of resources.
However, India still needs to invest in these satellite projects for scientific purposes which don't get pushed in country like India, unless "War on terrorism" clauses are used.
Yes. I am an Indian too.

India also has the worst terms with all of its neighbors:- China, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. With all the force you have mentioned, the problem of illegal immigration, supplying ammo and drugs across borders is huge in India.
My point is that maybe we could supply money to these forces to modernize the BSF than use satellites to track terrorist activity, because it is not unknown to us as to when and where the terrorists come from. Its just lack of resources and corruption that is creating the

So can someone explain to me why it is that India can afford nuclear weapons and spy satellites but I regularly see begging tv adverts telling me I need to give generously because Indians can't afford proper eye care or to provide themselves with clean water?